While I haven't been in a balance discussion for a long time, I really have to voice my opinion here. Some of the suggestions are downright unsettling to me.
Firefly
Fireflies are mostly OK for 1v1. However:
- They have too good accuracy and moving accuracy making vehicle-play impossible against them
- This is, unless, OST/OKW use heavy-TDs (which will be getting nerfed, btw)
Solution:
- Reduce accuracy/moving accuracy to SU-85 levels
- Remove movement-stun from Tulips
- Remove damage bonus from Vet3 (too good vs mediums; might require cost decrease though)
I can agree with a Moving Accuracy Decrease. But I believe it's Stationary Accuracy should be left alone. It fires very slowly already so you want that first shot to count.
Just the Moving Accuracy Decrease alone will make a huge difference since Kiting with it will become rather useless. So a British Player will need to support their Firefly to allow it to remain useful, such as supporting with PIAT Infantry.
No other change will be needed in my opinion. We should test how things go with the Moving Accuracy Nerf first before throwing anything else in the mix.
Crocodile
This is, again, an issue with super-specialized hardware. Even if you make them OK for 1v1, they become a menace in anything bigger than that.
- Simply too good for its cost at killing infantry
- Remember that range-affecting nerf some year ago? Well, it never properly made it in
Solution:
- Fix flamethrower damage and range (downwards)
- Upgrade cannon damage from 80 to 100 so that it can threaten tanks
- Allow players to control cannon directly
This allows Crocodile to be an AI-mostly generalist, which means it no longer has to absolutely murder infantry by staring at them.
While I agree with the point that Crocs can be an annoying thing to fight in Team Games, I feel decreasing it's range and damage is going over the top. The Croc's Armour already sucks as it is so having to come in close is way too risky, especially since Axis AT in general is formidable. It's suppose to help you break down concentrated defenses towards the end game. If you can't do that reliably, why the hell would anyone want it to begin with? I'm willing to bet most British Players don't want the Croc to become a Generalist Tank, that's what the Normal Churchill is for.
So I have an alternative proposal.
Let's decrease the Rate of Fire instead (Like the rate of fire of a Firefly.) and change the Rate of Fire Vet bonuses it gets into something else. This allows it to maintain it's Fear Factor with powerful streams of fire that players call it in for but still give the Axis more time to counter it or maneuver their infantry. This also make sense when you look at the size of the fuel tank on the Croc. I imagine that the crew in real life wouldn't dream of firing it as fast as in the game, since they would burn through the fuel quickly.
Preferably, I would say make it fire a 5 Second long stream of fire and let it cool down for at least 10 Seconds or so.
I believe this should be reasonable while allowing it to remain a desirable tank to get. Just ask yourself, do you see yourself ever getting into a position where you will feel you NEED a Croc once you nerf it's damage and range? I feel it will never see the battlefield again after that. I
IMPLORE you, Mr.Smith, to consider a heavy rate of fire nerf instead. It's an endgame unit after all and should remain a desired unit for the player to use.
Emplacement/ISG rework
- Mortar pit/ISG auto-attack range needs to go down (to at most 80)
- Barrage recharge could happen faster for Mortar Pits
- ISGs need anti-garrison upgrade for sure
- Brace needs rework (at the very least, it should disable repairs while active)
No, no, NO to the range nerf for the Mortar Pit. The Mortar Pit is Immobile and CANNOT be broken down. There is absolutely no fair reason why the auto-attack range should be nerfed. Once the British Player builds one, he can't move it to somewhere more useful once he pushes the enemy back, unless he break immersion and kills his own men. It needs that extra range to remain useful, especially on larger maps.
As long as this limitation exists, a range nerf is not something I'd recommend.
I do have an alternate proposal for this too, however.
We know that once buffed by a garrisoned squad or a Foward Assembly, the Mortar Pits becomes extremely potent killing machines. This is because the Rate of Fire for their Auto-Attack gets a huge buff. I believe this is where we should divert our attention.
I believe the bonus should no longer be applied to their auto attack and should instead be limited to their barrage commands, making it fire at a quicker rate and sooner. And while we are at it, I feel it should also speed up it's abilty to deploy their smoke barrage. That way they get a meaningful buff elsewhere in exchange for removing their overpowered rate of fire when supplied. If it's not enough, decrease the Auto-Attack rate of fire to match the Soviet 120mm Mortar.
You're already paying a whopping 400 Manpower. It has to remain useful. I'm sure as hell not going to pay that for a normal range mortar I can't move. The British are a Pop Cap heavy faction and can't field a large force like the others, especially when you dare to build emplacements. Being able to get fire support in a wider area of the map makes up for their small numbers. My proposal allows them to keep this without being overpowered.
As for the ISG, I believe it's range should also be left alone. I agree that it's a real pain in the ass to deal with but I feel that since it can only fire within an arc, it need that extra range to compensate not being able to engage in a 360 Degree angle. Not it mention it doesn't have a big splash. Accuracy is where it might be a problem.
If something REALLY had to be done with it (Even though I think it's fine as is...), I'd say make the Auto-Attack Scatter Radius wider. But again, not really a big issue to me.